The demands for loan waiver gained momentum after the Uttar Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath waived off almost Rs 36,400 crore worth of farmers’ debt.

“Did they seek resignation of Singh when the 24 farmers were killed?” I have said earlier that the farmers may have died in police firing.

M.P. police had said this morning they would not allow Gandhi and other Congress leaders to enter Mandsaur, where a round-the-clock curfew is in force after violence.

Singh was in the city to hold a dialogue on the completion of three years of the Narendra Modi government. Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1 over various demands. In retaliation, police opened fire at the farmers’ mob, leaving five dead, according to official count, but farmer leaders claim eight were killed.

He said that PM Modi could waive loans worth Rs 1.50 lakh crore of the rich but not of farmers. “The farmers will adopt the path of agitation if the government ignores their plight”. The Congress with its kisan union is also an active participant, having organised a Sangharsh yatra for farmers rights a few months ago.

“Pro-BJP and pro-RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) organisations are being used to overpower the ongoing protests”.

The outburst of discontent in India’s heartland farming states of Madhya Pradesh and neighboring Maharashtra poses a challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has promised to double farmers’ incomes over the next five years. Udaipur IG told ANI that, “Rahul Gandhi had flown to Udaipur in Rajasthan in a chartered plane, sat pillon on a motorcycle and reached the border between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh from where he started walking towards the border”. Later, it said the police had fired in self-defence.

The farmers agitation spread in no time, with more and more villages joining in along with kisan outfits and political parties other than the BJP of course.

He praised Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for taking “pro-farmers” decisions and appealed to the agrarian community to support him. If the Congress leader tries to enter the district, he will be detained, the SP said. “The Congress is going to suffer huge losses in the future”, he said. “Today, several global rating agencies have admitted that India’s GDP is growing”, the minister said. At this, Digvijay Singh and Kamal Nath protested, saying they wanted to go there to restore peace but were being stopped. “I have conceded this earlier, various channels have also ran it”, Singh said.